The autonomous Åland regional government has inked a deal with a local brewery, Stallhagen, to reproduce the beer found in a shipwreck back in 2010. At the time, divers recovered several bottles of aged champagne as well as five bottles of beer. The schooner is believed to have gone down in the 1840s but its origin and exact age are still being determined.
The Technical Research Centre of Finland, VTT, has analysed the beer, which had hitherto lain on the seabed at a depth of 50 metres for about 170 years. Brewers at Stallhagen will use the analysis to create a modern version of the tipple next year. Part of the proceeds from sales of the new brew will be donated to charitable causes.
“We are above all very happy about this cooperation with a local brewery. We are also pleased that our agreement with Stallhagen ensures that part of the proceeds from every beer sold will be donated to charity. The Åland government has decided to use these funds to support marine archaeological research as well as conservation programmes to improve the quality of the marine environment,” said Johan Ehn, Culture Minister in the Åland government.
The Stallhagen has now started work on developing a recipe for the beer with the aim of beginning production later this year. Beer lovers can look forward to sipping the new version of the shipwreck beer at beginning of June next year.
